Former Rivers State local government chairmen have vowed to return to their positions if Governor Siminalayi Fubara refuses to comply with a recent Supreme Court decision that outlawed the use of caretaker committees to administer council operations.
Former chairmen loyal to Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike issued the threat during a news briefing in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Dr Chidi Lloyd, the previous chairman of Emohua LGA, stated that they had been patient while waiting for Fubara to comply with the court decision.
However, he has continued to engage with Caretaker Committee members in the state’s 23 LG councils.
Dr. Lloyd demanded that the national police authorities take the appropriate steps to put an end to Fubara’s CTC chairmen’s operations, claiming that the governor’s actions could lead to a breakdown of peace in the state.
He said “The purpose of this meeting is to show that we are not cowards; if this continues, we will return to our local government and push our way into the councils.
“We’ve kept quiet because we have a leader who occasionally preaches the path of peace.We are still the same people that elected him governor despite the fact that his local government received fewer than 5,000 votes.
“If this continues, we will worsen an already tense situation; we are not cowards. We are calling on the police to act quickly. The State House of Assembly had written to the Inspector General of Police and passed a resolution on the issue on the House floor.
“ We don’t understand why the Rivers police are dragging their feet and insisting that everything is in order.”
Dr Lloyd urged the CTC chairmen to stay away from their project locations, stating, “Anyone who deals with them does so at his or her peril. If there is any more mimicry, we will all hit the pitch, and we will know what the Supreme Court has said.”
Also addressing, Hope Ikriko, the immediate past chairman of Ahoada West LGA, stated that the governor, who was vested with the authority to preserve law and order by law, had failed to do so.
Ikiro stated, “We are not just claiming we are all agitated; the people are agitated.They call us every day, and we are the voice of the voiceless.
We urge the government to do their tasks on schedule.Our governor does not appear to be interested in peace. They are going about securing properties belonging to perceived opponents. We are not frightened of them, but they must maintain peace and order in the state. As the governor is sealing homes, we will also visit his properties in the past.
Allwell Ihunda, former Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government and immediate past Chairman of ALGON in the state, stated that the briefing was held to draw the attention of President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the judiciary, security agencies, and Rivers residents to what he described as “crass contempt of judgements of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court delivered on July 4, 2024 and July 11, 2024, respectively.”
Ihunda recalled that the July 11, 2024 Supreme Court ruling, which affirmed the autonomy of LGAs across the country, abolished the powers of State Governors to establish caretaker committees to govern Local Government Councils in Nigeria, as enshrined in Section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution.
Ihunda stated that, while other state governors purportedly began to comply with the court’s decision to dissolve caretaker committees across the country, “the situation in Rivers State is different.”
He said, “The State Government of Rivers State is actively pushing these illegal caretaker committees by encouraging their chairmen and members to represent themselves as the leaders of the Local Government Administration in each of the 23 Local Government Areas.
Bottom Line
The conflict seems to be influenced by political alliances, with the former chairmen being loyal to Nyesom Wike, the current Federal Capital Territory Minister and former Governor of Rivers State.
The threat by former chairmen to forcibly return to their positions raises the risk of conflict and instability in the state. Such actions could lead to confrontations between supporters of the former chairmen and the current caretaker committees, potentially resulting in violence and disruption of local governance.
